Shorts.

Feb 18 2024 4

Shorts. Podcast artwork

This is Shorts: the podcast where we talk about contemporary short stories. We’re two long distanced friends who want to talk about what we’re reading. We think that short stories can contain all the richness and excitement of a novel, and can show the world through different perspectives. Before each episode, we invite you to read a story and then we’ll talk about it together. Click the link in the show notes to download our reading list and get started today! https://shortsthepodcast.com/ Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Twitter: @shortsthepod

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Taylor Swift

Feb 18 2024 31 mins

This week we’re reading Taylor Swift, a piece of flash fiction by Hugh Behm-Steinberg, published by Gulf Coast Mag. In the alternate reality of the story, our narrator buys several Taylor Swift clones, whom they use to deal with their emotions over their next door neighbour and friend Tina. As the story progresses, we ask questions over the extreme commodification of celebrity,

Ophelia

Feb 12 2024 41 mins

This week, we're reading "Ophelia" by Breanne McIvor. It was published in April 2017 on Adda, the online literary magazine of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Ophelia is a story about a young man who falls for a woman in the cast of a play he is in. As he prepares for a coffee with her - which could be their first date - he realises the distance between them, and d

How To Be An Other Woman

Jan 28 2024 52 mins

This week, we're reading “How To Be An Other Woman” by Lorrie Moore which was first published in 1985. The story is told from the perspective of Charlene, a secretary, who has an affair with a married man. One of the most famous examples of second person narration, How to Be an Other Woman follows Charlene as she navigates her identity from carefree mistress to jealous riva

The Heart In The House

Jan 14 2024 47 mins

This week, we're reading “The Heart In The House” by Aaron Muller. It was published in 2022 in Cold Signal magazine. Part comedy, part horror, this story is a surrealist dive into a woman’s relationship with the house she recently purchased, which appears to be alive. Link to Story: ⁠"The Heart in the House" by Aaron Muller Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shorts

Lazy River

Jan 09 2024 38 mins

This week, we're reading “The Lazy River” by Zadie Smith. It was published in December 2017 in the New Yorker. In this story, a group of British families go on holiday at an all-inclusive resort in Southern Spain. This simple premise belies extraordinary metaphors about life, materialism, and inequality. Link to Story: "The Lazy River" by Zadie Smith Link to the

A Child's Christmas in Wales

Dec 20 2023 39 mins

Merry Christmas and Welcome to Season 3 of Shorts! This season, we're kicking it off with our annual Christmas episode, and we're reading, "A Childs Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas. Written and recorded in 1952, this lyrical, alliterative, poem follows a boy's antics through Christmas Day. We recommend reading and listening to this poem, as Dylan's Wel

The Gift of the Magi

Dec 19 2022 27 mins

A special Christmas episode! For the second year in a row, we're reading a Christmas classic. This year, we dive into, "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, first published in December 1905. The Gift of the Magi tells the story of the young married couple Della and Jim, and their struggle to find meaningful Christmas gifts for each other when money is tight and time is short. L

Who Am I

Nov 28 2022 21 mins

This is a bitesized edition of Shorts - special bonus episodes where we will be focusing on very short short stories (also known as flash fiction!) Today we are reading "Who am I" by Amanda Olive Amoah which was published in Flash Fiction Ghana in 2015. In this story, our narrator wakes up and discovers she doesn't know who she is. Throughout her day, she cycles through a routine m

This Is How You Fail To Ghost Him

Oct 23 2022 27 mins

This is our very first bitesized edition of Shorts - special bonus episodes where we will be focusing on very short short stories (also known as flash fiction!) Today we are reading This Is How You Fail To Ghost Him by Victoria McCurdy, which was published in Monkeybicycle in 2017. In this story a young, dating-weary narrator goes on a first date with a man she’s met on the apps.

The Direction of the Road - with Completely Arbortrary

Apr 14 2022 75 mins

For this special bonus episode, Lizzie and Jen join Completely Arbortrary, a podcast that deep dives into all things TREE, to discuss The Direction of the Road by Ursula K. Le Guin. This short story is told from the perspective of a single oak tree on the Oregon State Highway, and through its gaze, we discover something about ourselves, too. Together with Completely Arbortrary co-h